Flexera 2026 State of ITAM Report: How teams are regaining control of cloud, SaaS and AI
Flexera 2026 State of ITAM Report: How teams are regaining control of cloud, SaaS and AI
Real progress has been made; but organisations can't let up, with AI and SaaS expansion moving faster than most can govern.
Published on 3rd July 2026
As organisations scale across SaaS, public cloud and AI, ITAM teams are being asked to do more than track assets: They’re expected to restore visibility, prove value and govern environments that are growing faster than policy can keep up.
Based on a global survey of 512 professionals, Flexera’s 2026 State of ITAM Report shows clear progress. But complexity continues to outpace control.
Below, we break down the key findings through the lens of the questions IT leaders are asking most right now.
The visibility gap across cloud, SaaS and AI
Visibility remains the biggest structural gap in modern ITAM.
- Only 31% of organisations report visibility into AI software
- Complete IT visibility has dropped to 36%, down from 43% in 2025
- Tracking or adopting AI applications is now the top combined challenge, cited by 84%
While visibility into on-premises, SaaS and cloud environments continues to improve, AI has created a new blind spot.
At the same time, ITAM’s scope is expanding:
- 75% manage cloud software licenses
- 64% manage SaaS licenses
- 51% support AI spend visibility
Takeaway
Visibility is no longer a tooling problem. It’s a scope problem. As asset types expand, ITAM teams need a single system of record that spans cloud, SaaS and AI.
The growing pressure to prove ROI on AI, cloud and SaaS
Optimisation remains the clearest path to proving value. But AI is still catching up.
- Optimising software spend is the number one SAM priority, leading all others by more than 19 percentage points
- ITAM teams spend the largest share of SAM time optimising cloud and SaaS software
- Nearly one-third of total ITAM time is dedicated to software optimisation
AI introduces a new challenge:
- AI tools aren’t yet producing strong savings outcomes
- Only 29% of organisations currently measure the value of AI software
- License reuse generates significant savings for 43% of organisations
- Mature ITAM programs consistently deliver savings through reuse and negotiation
Takeaway
For most organisations, ROI comes from optimisation, reuse and governance. AI investments are scaling fast, but value realisation hasn’t kept pace.
Escalating waste and audit exposure across the IT estate
AI adoption is moving faster than governance frameworks can support.
- 59% of organisations report increased wasted AI spend
- Only 31% have visibility into AI software
- 48% are tracking and rightsizing AI contracts
- 45% are actively identifying unsanctioned AI usage
- AI tracking is the top planned responsibility for ITAM teams
- More than half of ITAM teams already support AI-related activities
Takeaway
Most organisations are reacting to AI risk instead of preventing it. ITAM is emerging as the control layer that brings structure, accountability and guardrails to AI experimentation.
Cost pressure and audit exposure remain persistent and expensive.
- 48% of organisations were audited in the past year
- 44% spent more than $1,000,000 on audits over the past three years
- 64% of audited organisations reported Microsoft audits
Takeaway
Audit risk and waste aren’t disappearing. They’re evolving alongside AI and SaaS complexity. Organisations that improve visibility and licence control stand to unlock the greatest financial gains.
Why SaaS management is harder than expected
SaaS sprawl, cost pressure and fragmented ownership continue to create challenges.
- Tracking SaaS and public cloud software keeps rising as a core ITAM responsibility
- SaaS wasted spend continues to increase year over year
- Negotiating SaaS contract terms jumped 14 percentage points compared to 2025
- A growing number of applications
- Decentralised procurement
- Increasingly complex software use rights
Not surprisingly, 78% of ITAM teams say maintaining an accurate inventory is their top priority.
Takeaway
SaaS is difficult to manage because it’s fast-moving, fragmented and hard to normalise. Without strong inventory, discipline and governance, sprawl becomes unavoidable.
The bigger shift: ITAM is evolving from SAM and HAM
Across every trend, one theme stands out. ITAM is becoming a strategic control layer for cloud, SaaS and AI.
- 78% of organisations now have a FinOps team, and ITAM and FinOps responsibilities increasingly overlap
- Ownership of cloud optimisation is nearly split between ITAM and FinOps
This convergence reflects a new operating model:
- ITAM owns visibility and governance
- FinOps owns financial accountability
- Together, they define how organisations can control technology spend at scale
Final takeaway
The findings in the report show real progress, but it also makes one thing clear: AI and SaaS expansion are moving faster than most organisations can govern. To do this, leading teams are focusing on three priorities:
- Unifying visibility across cloud, SaaS and AI
- Driving measurable ROI through optimisation and reuse
- Closing governance gaps before they turn into financial or audit risk
Get the full picture
See how your organisation stacks up against others in Flexera’s 2026 State of ITAM Report.
Read the full report